User blog:Epic Emma/The Rest of the World
Don't read this unless you're done with Mockingjay. Too many spoilers. So here's a fanfic I'm working on. It's about Katniss and Peeta's kids, growing up in Panem after the revolution. Pretty much it's about making contact with other people, outside of Panem, seeing if there is anyone left on the other continents. The Rest of the World Part I District Twelve This is Rue. She is almost 18, but not nearly an adult yet. She has much to go through before she is mature, and doesn't know it yet. She has believed many things her whole life. She believes that there is nothing out there besides Panem, and nothing besides the happy life everyone in Panem now led. She believes that humans are the only sophisticated species. She believes that Panem is superior to other humans, and no one could be superior to them. She believes that none are smarter than her grandfather, Haymitch Abernathy. She believes she will never leave District Twelve, besides short trips to other Districts and the Capitol. And she is in for the surprise of her life. Chapter 1 The Announcement I listen as my best friend, Aisha, hums the Valley Song. It's a very old song, and everyone knows it. "See you tomorrow. Remember, you'll love your birthday present from me!" she calls as she turns towards her house. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I turn 18. I think about how the whole country of Panem is now as I walk towards my house. Things used to be different. Things weren't fair, The Capitol forced the districts to do their work, and forced them into the horrible Hunger Games every year. I know how my parents played major roles in changing things. My mom, Katniss Mellark, played a major role in the revolution, as the Mockingjay, the symbol of the rebellion. Shortly after the rebellion, a month after Paylor was elected president of Panem, the mayor of District Four began to make his own domain. It was at first just District Four, and the leader, Octavian, Victor of the 73rd Games, named it New Roma. A month after that started, New Roma invaded Districts One and Two, and then they became part of New Roma. A few weeks after that, District Three was invaded, and became part of the new empire. The citizens of invaded Districts were happy to be rid of the rebels. After they had the four lowest numbered Districts, New Roma took a short break from growing. Six months later, they invaded the Capitol, and the Capitol joined New Roma. At first, interactions between Panem and New Roma were hostile, but, with time, they became more tolerant of eachother. I walk in the door, and set my backpack down. I glance at the clock. 3:58. Good. My favorite TV show, Voice of Panem, a singing show, is on at 4. Right now, I'm the only one home. My little brother, Finnick, is at a friend's house, Mom is out hunting, and Dad is at work in the bakery. I grab a handful of berries from the kitchen for snack, then sit down on the couch to watch Voice of Panem. The winner is a 19 year old from District 9, singing The Hanging Tree. It's a pretty weird song, but the tune is catchy. It used to be outlawed, and if you read the lyrics you'd understand why. The lyrics go: "Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where they strung up a man They say murdered three Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight In the hanging tree Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where the dead man called out For his love to flee Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight In the hanging tree Are you are you Coming to the tree Where I told you to run So we'd both be free Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight In the hanging tree Are you are you Coming to the tree Wear a necklace of rope Side by side with me Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met up at midnight In the hanging tree" At 4:30, when the show ends, I'm about to turn the TV off, when something startles me. "Announcement," the screen says in blinking red letters. It goes to a lady holding some papers, talking. "It has recently been discovered that the used to be other land masses, besides North America. Former President Coriolanus Snow knew about it, but, knowing that they would try to end his cruel government, decided to avoid all contact with people outside of Panem." A map appears on the screen, it is of an area I've never seen before, although part of it is clearly Panem. She continues talking, "That place below us is South America. To the east, there are other places. Europe and Asia are those two land masses that should be counted as one. Africa is below it. To the southeast, there's Australia. And way below it, on the bottom of the map, is Antarctica." The screen goes back to the lady talking. "President Paylor has decided we need to send people out to see if there are still people living in those places, and, if it is possible, help them. Unfortunately, since our hovercrafts require exact coordinates to fly somewhere, we can't use those. We have to do it the old fashioned way, and go across the ocean in boats. This will require very brave people. Anyone ages 18 to 30 who would like to go, please get on a train to The Capitol at 4 pm tomorrow. There, people will select the bravest, strongest, cleverest, wisest people to go on ships to contact other people. Remember, 4 pm, get on the train to The Capitol. You will be given further instructions from there. Thank you, and goodbye." I stare in shock at the TV. Finally, I gather my bearings enough to turn the TV off. Obviously, I have to do it. But my parents and Finnick and Aisha would be very upset and worried. Chapter 2 Training with Haymitch Since no one is there to talk to about it, I walk over to Grandpa's house. He's not my actual grandfather. His name is Haymitch Abernathy. All my real grandparents are either dead or living in a different district, and Haymitch is like a parent to my parents, so he's like a grandfather to me. As I knock on the door, I see through the window that he's already near the door. "I was just heading over to talk to you," he says, "I knew you would have to head over to The Capitol for that. I decided I'll do my best to prepare you. When your parents get home, I'll call them, and tell them you'll be staying here all night and all day tomorrow to be prepared. At 3 o'clock tomorrow, you can leave, and say your goodbyes to everyone, then head to the train station. Now, unless you have any questions, let's get started." I stare at him blankly. How had he thought of all that in the short amount of time since the announcement? Finally, I talk, "Well, I don't have any questions. What are we doing first to prepare?" It takes a minute of him looking at me weird to realize I just asked a question. "Um, er, I mean, let's go do whatever we're gonna do first." My cheeks turn pink. I feel kind of stupid for that. Without saying anything, Grandpa leads me down to his basement. Kind of weird that I've never seen his basement before, considering how much time I spend at his house. When we get down there, I understand why. There are weapons and exercise equipment and obstacle courses everywhere. "I set this up with your parents when we were training before the second time they went into the Games. I decided to leave it here in case I never need it again," he explains. I nod, and walk over to a place where a variety of distance weapons are together, with a few targets set up several yards away. "Try out each of these, and see which you're best at," he commands. First I pick up the knives. I throw one, and it sticks in the wall about a foot away from the target. The second one hits the target with the handle, and Grandpa and I duck to avoid getting hit by it as it bounces back. "Ok, I guess knives aren't my thing," I comment. He laughs. Next is a bow. After shooting that a few times, I discover that I'm not as bad at it, but I'm really hoping it's not the one I'm best at, or I wouldn't be hitting much with it. Next, I pick up a slingshot. With that, I barely miss the bullseye with my first shot, and I hit the bullseye on my second try. "Good job," Grandpa congratulates me, "What a funny coincidence. rue, the girl you're named after, was also good with a slingshot." Chapter 3 Names I think about Rue, the girl I'm named after. She was my mom's ally in the first time she was in the Games. She was definitely the smallest Tribute, only 12 years old. She was killed by a boy from District One. Rue meant a lot to my mom because, during the Games, she was pretty much a replacement for my mom's little sister, Prim. Prim was the person that my mom cared about the most, and even the few weeks in the Games without her would've been bad for Mom, she probably wouldn't have been able to kill Rue, even if it meant not winning the Games, I was named after her so that the memory of her wouldn't die. My little brother, Finnick, is also named after an important friend and ally who died. Finnick Odair won the 65th Hunger Games at only 14. When he was 16, President Snow forced him to become a prostitute, or Snow would kill the girl who meant the most to him, Annie Cresta, a girl who was also a Victors, went a bit insane after she won, and is still alive, with her son. Finnick was chosen to go into the 75th and last Games. There, he was an ally to my mom, who didn't like him at first, but she didn't want to kill him after he saved my dad's life. On the night when they broke out of the arena, Finnick was taken to District Thirteen, the underground base of the rebellion. There, he barely managed to hang onto sanity, and spent most of his time tying and untying knots. When people were going to The Capitol to rescue the Victors that The Capitol took after the breakout from the Arena, he created the distraction to give the rebels some time. To distract everyone, he was broadcast on TV talking. First, he just talked about the various minor secrets he had learned from the people in The Capitol. The last, and most important, secret he shared was about Former President Snow. Snow, to reach his high position, poisoned people. When the Victors returned from The Capitol, he was reunited with Annie, and they then became inseparable. After not too long, they got married. In the war in The Capitol, Finnick was in the same squad as my parents. He was killed by a pack of lizard mutts. Mutts were special animals created by The Capitol for special purposes. They were initially used during the first rebellion, then they were used in the Games. One of the worst parts of his death is that Annie was pregnant. Not wanting him to be forgotten either, my parents named my brother after Finnick. Chapter 4 Perfection is the Only Option All this goes through my head in a matter of seconds, and Grandpa has paused, and is looking at me; he was clearly expecting that last comment to trigger memories. "I've heard," I reply to what he had said earlier. "Ok, now let's improve your skill. Within a few hours, I want you to always hit the bullseye from the far wall," Grandpa instructs, and I expect him to be joking, but his face looks completely serious. After I'm certain he's 100% serious, I reply, "Um, I don't think I can do it." "Yes, you can," he tells me. Seeing that there's no way I'm going to get out of this, I grudgingly walk over to the far wall, with the slingshot in my hand. "No,hats not how you do it. You start by hitting the bullseye up close, then you slowly back up," Grandpa explains. I head up to the target, standing about the same place I had been when I hit the bullseye earlier. I look at Grandpa, and he nods approval. I carefully aim at the target, and shoot. The small, round pebble I'd used hits the exact center of the bullseye. Given confidence from that last shot, I shoot again, without being very careful with my aim. This time, it barely hits the edge of the target. "Don't get too cocky, or you won't do as well. Pride comes before the fall" Grandpa explains, I nod, embarrassed, and prepare to shoot again, aiming carefully this time, I hit the bullseye again. After hitting the bullseye a few more times, Grandpa tells me to take a few steps back. I happily take two large steps back, and begin shooting again. Since I'm concentrating really hard, but a bit further back than before, I hit the bullseye twice, and just barely miss it once "Good try," Grandpa says after I miss one. After hitting the bullseye a few more times, I step back a bit more. This goes on for quite a while, hitting the bullseye on most shots, but missing a few, then stepping back more. Before I know it, I'm stepping back, and hitting the wall. Standing with my back against the wall, I carefully aim, and shoot. It hits the bullseye. I shoot carefully a few more times, and hit the bullseye each time. Grandpa looks at his watch. "Good job! That only took 1 hour 27 minutes. I knew you could do it," he congratulates me. Chapter 5 Philosophy I smile, feeling accomplished. "Ok, now time to move on. Let's learn about edible plants," Grandpa instructs. "Most important to remember," he digs around in his pocket, then produces a handful of berries, "This is nightlock. If you eat it, you'll be dead in a minute. Why is this important?" I don't hesitate to answer. I've heard this story millions of times. "My parents managed to get out of the arena together by threatening double suicide with nightlock." I explain. "Good job, you know something that everyone in Panem knows. Now here's the interesting part. If you didn't know that story, would you think of nightlock as a bad thing?" Grandpa asks. "Well, I guess so, since it's deadly." "Ah. Now answer this. If it weren't for nightlock, would you be alive?" he questions. "I guess not," I reply. "So, if it weren't for these deadly berries, you wouldn't be here. Death brought life," he explains "And I will need to know this because?" I question him. "Wow, you knew I wouldn't be going through all this for nothing. Here's the point. Good things come out of bad things. Everything happens for a reason. So if something bad happens, don't get drowned in sorrow and self-pity. Eventually, the reason will be shown to you," Grandpa explains. "Wow, I've never seen this deep, philosophical side of you," I comment. "Well, how many times have you needed or asked to see it?" "Good point." I'm really starting to regret not coming to Grandpa for help before. After all, he did get both of my parents through the Games twice." Chapter 6 Lamb Ok, now it's time for dinner," Grandpa comments. I glance at my watch. 6:03. Wow, time has more quickly than I thought. We walk up the stairs, and I take a seat at the table, while Grandpa gets some food. Ready. In a minute, he sets a plate of meat in front of me. I examine the meat."What kind is this?" I question. "Lamb." "Lamb? Don't you know that that's my least favorite." "Yes, I know that. That's why I'm giving it to you. You might have to eat some stuff you don't like, and that will be all you get. You have to learn to cope with that." I grudgingly eat the lamb, little by little. It's so gross that I want to puke, but I still finish it. When I'm done, Grandpa smiles, and reaches under a cloth. He pulls out a huge plate of all my favorite foods. I start drooling at just the sight of it. The plate is heaping with hamburgers, fruits, chocolates, and far more than just that. He sets the plate in front of me. I reach for it, when Grandpa's voice sops me. "Wait," he says. "What?" "You have to wait with the plate right there for 10 minutes before you can eat." "Seriously?" "Yes. And the time doesn't start until you stop arguing. I grudgingly shut up, and sit there staring at the delicious food. After what seems like an eternity, Grandpa says, "You now, instead of staring at its the time would've passed a lot more quickly if you were doing something, a distraction." I moan as I realize I didn't have to go through that, then I'm about to dig in, when Grandpa's voice stops me again. "Stop." "What is it this time?" he reaches into another cupboard, an dolls out a second plate of lamb, and sets it next to the other plate. "Why is that there?" I question. "You can have your choice between the two plates. Pick one, and once your decision is made, you can't change your mind." I'm about to grab the plate with all my favorite foods, when I realize this cold be a trick. I decide that there will probably be a better outcome if I choose the obviously less desirable choice, so I reach for the lamb. Once it's in my hands, Grandpa laughs. "So that's your choice?" "Yes." "Great, because that wasn't a trick. I just wanted to see how trusting you are. Not everything is a trick, and you just have to sense if it is or not. In the future, remember you may want to pick the metaphorical favorite foods. But not always, of course.". A moment passes. "Well, eat up! I said no changing your mind." I groan, and eat the lamb. This plate is a little smaller than the last one, so it's a bit more tolerable. After I've choked down every bit of it, Grandpa talks again. "If you're still hungry, you can eat the other plate." I shake my head. My stomach is too full to eat another bite. Chapter 7 Dominoes "Ok, well, on to the next thing." He leads me back downstairs, and walks into a closet. In a moment, he walks back out, holding a box. Grandpa dumps the contents of the box on the ground. Out of it, thousands of dominoes come cascading down to the ground. "Well, get started," he says. "Get started with what?" "Isn't it obvious? Set up all the dominoes. Every single one. And they have to be in a perfect square, so you have to count all of them, first. I recommend getting started right now, or else it will take forever," Grandpa explains. I stare blankly at him. There's no way he expects me to do that. Then, I think back to the other things he's had me do, and I realize that this is relatively reasonable. I pick up one of the dominoes from the pile, and move it into another pile. "One," I mutter. I pick up another domino, and toss it to the new pile. Two. I continue moving dominoes from one pile to the new pile, and counting. After what seems like forever, I've counted all 2500 of them. I do the math in my head. The square root of 2500 is 50. That means that to make a square with the dominoes, I have to put 50 on each side. I pick up one domino, and set it upright a few feet away from the pile. Then I repeat this process 49 times. After this, I have a full row done. I set the 51st domino under the first one, and make another row. When I'm done with that row, I make another 48 rows. "Finally," I mutter. "Good job," Grandpa says, "Getting tired?" When he says that, I realize I am tired. "Well, you can go to bed when I'm dome explaining the purpose of the dominoes was to teach you to endure long, boring, seemingly pointless jobs. Remember, there will be a purpose." Chapter 8 Morning "Ok, I'll remember that. Now where am I sleeping?" "On the ground." "You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me." "Surprisingly, I am. You'll be sleeping in the guest bedroom." He leads me up the stairs, and into a bedroom. In it is a bed, covered with basic sheets and a blanket, and a small nightstand nest to its. "Good night" Grandpa says. "Night." I mutter back. Wow, I must be even more tired than I think. Grandpa turns out the lights, and walks out, closing the door behind him. I climb into bed, still in my clothes. The second my head hits the pillow, I fall asleep. When I wake up, I glance at my watch. 1:08 pm. Wow, I must've been really tired. I am about to go apologize to Grandpa for sleeping in, when I see a note on my bed. I pick it up and it says: "Rue, I know you're tired, so feel free to sleep in as long as you want. We managed to do pretty much everything that we needed to do last night, so you can relax today. Since I want some warning before you come out, please knock on your door when you wake up, then in two minutes, come out. Thanks, Grandpa" I set down the note. It's a bit weird that he wants warning before I come out, but I can never really understand Grandpa. So, I go knock on my door, then sit down on my bed. I glance at my watch again. 1:08. Then I notice the date. It says in digital numbers 5-12. May twelfth. My birthday. My 18th birthday, to be exact. Now I'm suspicious of Grandpa. It is highly plausible that there's a surprise party waiting for me out there. I'm not given any more time to hunk about it, though, since I glance at my watch again, and it's 1:09. It's been two minutes since I woke up, so I head towards the door. When I step out, I head into the kitchen. All that's in there is Grandpa, cooking pancakes. Hmm. I guess I was wrong. "I see you slept in," he says, then sets a few pancakes on a plate for me. "Let's eat downstairs," he suggests. I don't see any reason to object, so I agree. I head down the stairs first, and walk into darkness. "Where's the lightswitch?" I ask. "Here, I'll get it." Grandpa replies. The lights go on, then tons of people jump out, and yell, "Surprise!" Chapter 9 Presents At first, I'm really excited and happy, but then I realize something. Today is Friday. They should be in school. After looking around a bit more, I notice that even one of my teachers is here. "Shouldn't you all be in school" Brutus, a boy who used to live in The Capitol (before the Capitol of Panem got moved to District Five because of New Roma), answers me. "Didn't you hear? There's a national holiday today, because this is the day that people head to the Capitol." I smile as he explains this. This means that I have all day to say bye to everyone. Then, I think about something that hasn't occurred to me yet. I'm obviously not the only person from District Twelve planning on going. So the question is, who else is going? Without realizing it, I voice my question aloud, and am greeted with an answer. "Well, lots of people want to go for the excitement, but out of fear aren't going. I'm pretty sure that the only people from District Twelve going, besides you, are a few people in their early 20s that you don't know." Hmmm. Is everyone else really that chicken? It can't be that in the only virtually fearless person under 20 in all of District Twelve. "Ok, so how about you open your presents now?" Grandpa suggests. "Ok," I agree. Aisha picks up a present that is, undoubtedly, from her. It's wrapped I'm blue wrapping paper, and about the size of a notebook. She hands it to me, and I unwrap it. Inside is a tablet. At my touch, the screen lights up. In a shade of blue not too different from the wrapping paper, it has two letters on it, DW, bent in a way that makes them look similar to a box. "Doctor Who," Aisha explains, "It's a TV show from a long time ago This tablet contains every episode, for you to watch in your free time. I possess the only remaining copy of the show, and I doubt anyone else even knows what Doctor Who is. It's a very entertaining show, I'm sure you'll love it." I smile. This is an amazing gift. I can't wait to watch it! Most of the test of the gifts aren't too exciting, mostly just jewelry, clothes, makeup, and lots and lots of books. Everyone who knows me knows that I love to read. My mom's gift was particularly interesting. She gave me her mockingjay pin. "Are you sure?" I ask her. "Yes. For good luck." "Thank you so much." This truly does mean a lot. The last gift I get is from Grandpa. I unwrap it, and am about to open the box, when he stops me. "There's too much in there for you to go through right now, and you may want to look at some of it alone. I suggest taking it with you to the Capitol, and going through it there." Chapter 10 Packing "Ok. So when do we get cake?" Everyone laughs at that. Dad walks over to the cake that he undoubtedly made, and begins cutting it. As he cuts it, everyone sings Happy Birthday. When he finishes cutting it, I get the first slice of cake. It is absolutely delicious. It feels like angels are dancing on my tongue. The rest of the party goes by pretty fast. I talk to some people, eat a delicious lunch, and even though it's actually a few hours, it all goes by in a flash. Afterwards, I manage to fit all of my parents in a fairly large bag, and then I go homes. On the way home, I walk with Mom, Dad, and Finnick. We discuss what will most likely be in the other continents. Mom thinks it will just be wasteland, Finnick thinks there will be no people, but there will be natural resources we can use. Dad thinks there will be a civilization on most continents, and working together, the whole world will help eachother grow. I don't really know what to expect. It's simple logic that if we can survive in a thriving country without outside contact, why can't they? We get to my house, and I set all my presents on my bed. My mom gives me a large suitcase, and I begin packing. First I pack clothes. I may need clothes for many different types of weather, so I pack a large variety. I don't add any fancy clothes. I decide against bringing any makeup. After everything is packed up, I head out into the living room. I hug Mom, Dad, and Finnick. I don't need to say goodbye to anyone else, everyone besides my family I had said farewell to when I left the party. Carrying my suitcase with me, I head over to the train station. There, there is a person waiting, checking all the records to make sure that everyone going is in the age range, and putting down who is going on a piece of paper. "Hello," she greets happily, "I'm Florensa. Can you please give me your full name?" "Rue Livia Mellark," I tell her. She enters my name into her computer, glances at my date of births and says, "Looks like you're just old enough! Happy birthday!" Florensa then writes my name down, and continues, "On the train, someone will take care of your luggage. Make yourself comfortable!" Category:Blog posts